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Monday, February 23, 2026

Tag: ballots
October 3, 2025
Election Integrity
News

Amazon Sent One Woman Hundreds of Ballots in This Dem State.

PULSE POINTS

âť“WHAT HAPPENED: A Maine woman received 250 unused state election ballots in an Amazon package she ordered, prompting an investigation.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D), Maine House Republican Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, and voters in the state.

đź“ŤWHEN & WHERE: Newburgh, Maine, just days before mail-in voting begins for a state referendum on absentee voting regulations.

đź’¬KEY QUOTE: “Safe and secure elections are my top priority. Law enforcement is working diligently to determine who is responsible, and they will be held accountable.” – Shenna Bellows

🎯IMPACT: The incident has raised serious concerns about election security, with calls for federal investigations and tighter voting regulations.

IN FULL

A woman in Newburgh, Maine, was stunned to discover 250 unused state election ballots inside an Amazon package she had ordered, which was supposed to contain coffee, rice, and paper plates. Speaking anonymously, the woman said the package appeared to have been opened and resealed before it arrived at her home.

After finding the ballots, she contacted local authorities, who helped transfer them to the Newburgh town clerk’s office. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) confirmed that an investigation has been launched into how the ballots ended up outside the official chain of custody. “Safe and secure elections are my top priority. As soon as we became aware of allegations of ballots being received outside of the appropriate chain of custody, I immediately initiated an investigation through my secretary of state’s law enforcement division,” Bellows said in a statement.

The incident has triggered calls for broader investigations. Maine House Republican Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham is urging U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel to open a federal probe. “The discovery of hundreds of authentic state ballots in a private Amazon delivery is beyond alarming. When ballots appear in household shipments of rice and toys, trust is shattered. Mainers deserve answers, accountability, and immediate action,” Faulkingham said.

Notably, Bellows attempted to unilaterally ban Donald J. Trump from appearing on Maine’s presidential primary ballots in 2023, alleging he had violated the Constitution’s insurrection clause. This suggests to some conservatives that she is a partisan actor who cannot be relied upon to uphold election integrity.

The campaign group Voter ID for ME reacted strongly to the scandal on social media, writing, “HUNDREDS of ballots are now turning up in Amazon packages?? This isn’t satire, fear mongering or political hyperbole. It’s reality. And it’s very likely not a one‑off, either. This is HUGE and means our elections are even MORE unsafe than we thought.”

The incident adds to a growing list of ballot-related concerns across the country. In Rhode Island, a Democrat lawmaker was recently accused of distributing misleading “sample ballots” that omitted opposing party candidates. In Pennsylvania, thousands of overseas military ballots have been challenged due to discrepancies. A 2025 FBI report also concluded that China attempted to exploit mail-in ballots to influence the 2020 election.

This has all fueled efforts to restrict mail-in voting, including a campaign by President Donald J. Trump calling for a ban on mail-in ballots and electronic voting machines.

Image via Stock Catalog.

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November 5, 2024
Christopher Tomlinson
Election 2024
Election Integrity

VA County Switches To Paper Ballots After Machines Breakdown.

At least one voting machine in a Virginia county has been reported to have malfunctioned and shut down. The local elections board chairman confirmed that voters have been asked to switch to emergency paper ballots.

John Nunnall, Chairman of the Caroline County Elections Board, stated that the voting machine went down in the Fort Royal precinct and that the voting machine was being fixed for a second time.

Journalist Kyle Becker reports that Nunnally said he has a spare voting machine on standby and will be heading to Fort Royal to access and fix the issue.

While Virginia was a big win for President Joe Biden in 2020, polling suggests that the race between President Donald J. Trump and Kamala Harris could be much tighter in the state this year.

The report from Virginia follows multiple other reports of malfunctioning voting machines, particularly ballot-counting machines.

Image by Famartin.

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At least one voting machine in a Virginia county has been reported to have malfunctioned and shut down. The local elections board chairman confirmed that voters have been asked to switch to emergency paper ballots. show more
alert
November 5, 2024
William Upton
Election 2024
Election Integrity

PA County Switches To Paper Ballots After Machines Fail on Election Day.

Pennsylvania’s Cambria County has been forced to make an election day switch to paper ballots following widespread issues with voting machines in the heavily Republican locality.

The technology issue predominately impacts ballot scanners, meaning the printed electronic votes must be hand-counted for tabulation.

“The Cambria County Board of Election learned early this morning that a software malfunction in the County’s Electronic Voting System has prevented voters from scanning their ballots. This should not discourage voters from voting at their voting precincts,” Cambria County solicitor Ron Repak said in a statement early Tuesday morning. He added: “The Board has filed a Court Order extending the time to vote within Cambria County. No one should be turned away from the polls if they wish to cast their vote. Cambria County Board of Elections took measures to have IT specialists called to review the software issue. There is a process in place for issues of this nature.”

The Cambria County official claims that “[a]ll completed ballots will be accepted, secured, and counted by the Board of Elections.”

“The County Board of Elections has express voting machine at precinct locations to continue to allow voting electronically, while still allowing hand ballots to be cast,” Repak said, adding that all votes will be counted.

Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Department of State issued a statement saying it is aware of the situation in Cambria County and is working with local officials on a solution. “Voters are continuing to vote by paper ballot, in accordance with normal operations, while the county resolves the issue with in-precinct scanning,” it said in a post on X (formerly Twitter), adding: “We are working with the County to resolve this technical matter and remain committed to ensuring a free, fair, safe, and secure election.”

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Pennsylvania's Cambria County has been forced to make an election day switch to paper ballots following widespread issues with voting machines in the heavily Republican locality. show more
dominion
October 30, 2024
William Upton
Election 2024
Election Integrity

Dominion Voting Machines NATIONWIDE Are Experiencing ‘Programming Issues.’

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is warning voters that a Dominion voting machine model in use in many of the state’s counties is erroneously preventing voters from casting split-ticket ballots. According to Benson, the error is impacting specifically the Dominion ICX Voter Assist Terminal (VAT) system, which is offered to individuals with disabilities and assists with marking their ballots.

According to Benson, the Dominion machine has an issue processing certain types of ballots—namely those where a voter wishes to vote for a mix of Republican and Democratic Party candidates instead of a straight party line. The Michigan Secretary of State claims the problem with the VAT machine isn’t unique to Michigan, and ballot marking errors have been reported by election officials nationwide.

“Yeah, this is a nationwide issue with Dominion voter access terminals in, in the counties that use them in the voter access terminals,” Benson announced earlier this week. She added: “Of course, not all the machines, just the ones that are accessible, have an issue. With the straight-party voting and a programming issue, that’s again affected the machines nationwide.”


Michigan election officials say that voters using Dominion-made VAT machines must either cast a straight-party line ballot or manually split their ballot by voting on each candidate individually. Typically, Michigan voters can select a partisan ballot choice and then override the party selection for specific races.

The Michigan Department of State says Dominion cannot fix the error in time for the 2024 election, so manual voting will be necessary for any disabled voter using a VAT machine. For her part, Benson expressed disappointment in Dominion over the issue, adding that she and others were unhappy to learn about the problem only when testing began.

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Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is warning voters that a Dominion voting machine model in use in many of the state's counties is erroneously preventing voters from casting split-ticket ballots. According to Benson, the error is impacting specifically the Dominion ICX Voter Assist Terminal (VAT) system, which is offered to individuals with disabilities and assists with marking their ballots. show more
October 22, 2024
Raheem J. Kassam
Election 2024
Election Integrity

New Election Integrity Rules Blocked… By Anti-Trump ‘Republicans.’

The Georgia Supreme Court has blocked a Republican-backed mandate that would have required poll workers to hand-count ballots during the 2024 election. The court’s unanimous decision prevents the rule, which would have helped ensure election integrity in the Peach State. It is unclear at this point whether the case can be further appealed, though The National Pulse understands that advocates for the rules are actively exploring their options in real-time.

The mandate, pushed by three members of the state election board, would have forced poll workers to manually tally ballots cast at each precinct and compare them to machine counts. While it wouldn’t require the hand-counting of actual votes, supporters claimed the measure would catch early errors and boost public trust in the process.

State officials linked to Republican-In-Name-Only (RINO) Governor Brian Kemp complained it would do the opposite by “overburdening” poll workers. As a result, a RINO-group called Eternal Vigilance Action filed the case with the State Supreme Court.

Eternal Vigilance Action is run by local Kemp ally Scot Turner, who is also a part of the local Peach Politics blog founded by anti-Trump commentator Erick Erickson. Turner recently wrote on his blog: “Trump can, in fact, still earn my vote. To do so, all he needs to do is lick the bottom of Brian Kemp’s shoes clean after he has accidentally stepped in a pile of dog crap at one of Marty Kemp’s pet adoption events at the Governor’s Mansion. And I am going to need to see it in person. After that, I will gladly vote for Trump, but not until then.”

Erickson is most recently known for his anti-Trump, pro-Ron DeSantis activism during the Republican Party primary.

In addition to blocking the hand-count rule, the court also rejected a separate election board measure allowing a “reasonable inquiry” into results before certification, further preventing delays and potential disruptions to the election process.

Though the court’s ruling prevents these rules from taking effect in the upcoming election, it indicated that the board’s power to issue such regulations could be reviewed in the future.

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The Georgia Supreme Court has blocked a Republican-backed mandate that would have required poll workers to hand-count ballots during the 2024 election. The court's unanimous decision prevents the rule, which would have helped ensure election integrity in the Peach State. It is unclear at this point whether the case can be further appealed, though The National Pulse understands that advocates for the rules are actively exploring their options in real-time. show more
hand counting ballots
September 20, 2024
William Upton
Election 2024
Election Integrity

WIN: Georgia to Require Hand Count of Ballots to Confirm Electronic Results.

In another win for election integrity efforts in Georgia, the state board of elections—in a 3-2 decision—is requiring counties to hand count all ballots in November’s election. According to the Georgia State Election Board, ballots will still be counted electronically as well, but the hand count will be required prior to official certification of the election results.

The initiative was spearheaded by local activists without help from the Republican National Committee or Trump campaign staff.

Critics of the decision are disingenuously claiming that requiring a handout has the potential of “upending the November election” and could “[delay] reporting of results by weeks if not months.” However, the electronic count will still occur, and voters will almost certainly know the election results reasonably quickly.

The hand count will simply act as a transparency measure to confirm the electronic results. While it may take time, it will occur before the results can be certified. Most U.S. states already take a week or more to certify their presidential election results.

Proponents of the new rule note that significant irregularities have been uncovered in several Georgia counties. The National Pulse reported in May that numerous deficiencies were found by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office in Fulton County, including that election officials implemented improper procedures during its 2020 presidential election recount.

The inquiry was prompted by a July 8, 2022, complaint alleging the inappropriate count of 17,852 ballots. The investigation revealed duplicate ballot images, implying probable multiple scanning of some ballots and thousands of missing ballot images.

Earlier this summer, the state’s election board enacted two other measures. Both rules ensure that the number of ballots cast is the number of ballots counted prior to certification.

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In another win for election integrity efforts in Georgia, the state board of elections—in a 3-2 decision—is requiring counties to hand count all ballots in November's election. According to the Georgia State Election Board, ballots will still be counted electronically as well, but the hand count will be required prior to official certification of the election results. show more

Editor’s Notes

Behind-the-scenes political intrigue exclusively for Pulse+ subscribers.

RAHEEM J. KASSAM Editor-in-Chief
It’s interesting, isn’t it? This wasn’t some RNC or Trump campaign effort
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It’s interesting, isn’t it? This wasn’t some RNC or Trump campaign effort show more
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August 19, 2024
William Upton
Election 2024
Election Integrity

Another Election Integrity Win Secured In Georgia Ahead of the 2024 Vote.

The Georgia State Election Board voted three to two to adopt a new rule requiring the total number of votes cast to be reconciled with the total number of voters recorded for an election. If discrepancies in the count are discovered, the issue must be investigated, and a resolution must be found before the vote can be certified.

This marks the latest in a series of victories in Georgia for election integrity activists. Under the new rule, the State Election Board must meet within several days of an election to review precinct returns. In addition, the Board will oversee the compiling of a list of all voters who participated in a given election—including a breakdown by category of those “who voted Election Day In Person, Advanced Voting, Absentee and Provisionally.” The rule also adds that the number of “unique voter IDs from each precinct shall be counted.”

According to the rule, the total number of votes cast in each precinct will then be reconciled with the total number of votes counted in the same precinct. “In any precinct in which the number of ballots exceeds the number of unique votes, the Board shall determine the method of voting in which the discrepancy exists,” the new Georgia rule reads.

If the error cannot be resolved, “the Board shall determine a method to compute the votes justly” according to state law. If fraud is discovered, the Board is required to report its findings to the relevant district attorney.

The National Pulse reported in July that the Georgia State Election Board will also require local election officials to reconcile the number of votes cast with the number of ballots counted at the end of each day of early voting.

READ:

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The Georgia State Election Board voted three to two to adopt a new rule requiring the total number of votes cast to be reconciled with the total number of voters recorded for an election. If discrepancies in the count are discovered, the issue must be investigated, and a resolution must be found before the vote can be certified. show more
July 10, 2024
William Upton
Election 2024
Election Integrity

Georgia Elections Board Moves to Enhance Vote Integrity with New Rule.

In a three-to-one decision, the Georgia State Election Board has amended state election rules to ensure the number of ballots cast is the number of ballots counted for each day of voting. According to the rule change, the poll manager and two witnesses—sworn in as poll officers—will remove the ballots from the scanner box and present the votes to three independent poll officers for a hand count.

Each poll officer will proceed to count through the ballots cast. Once each of the three officers concludes their count, they must sign a control document denoting their tally. If the numbers of each count do not match with each other and align with the voting machine count, then the poll manager is directed to immediately identify the source of the inconsistency and correct it if possible.

Consistent ballot counts and custody have been an ongoing concern in U.S. elections, especially in Georgia. The National Pulse reported in May that a bombshell investigation by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office found that Fulton County had implemented improper procedures during its 2020 presidential election recount. Even more concerning, Fulton County election officials could not account for thousands of ballot images from their initial scanning. Additionally, duplicate images of some ballot scans were discovered, implying that votes may have been counted multiple times.

The Georgia State Election Board responded by issuing a letter of reprimand to the county and assigning a monitor to supervise the upcoming 2024 presidential election. Fulton County’s representative, Jessica Corbitt, claims that no proof of fraud has been found, and that the county is focusing on upgrading its election procedures and infrastructure.

READ:

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In a three-to-one decision, the Georgia State Election Board has amended state election rules to ensure the number of ballots cast is the number of ballots counted for each day of voting. According to the rule change, the poll manager and two witnesses—sworn in as poll officers—will remove the ballots from the scanner box and present the votes to three independent poll officers for a hand count. show more
May 3, 2024
William Upton
Election Integrity

Noncitizens ARE Voting — And Are 3x More Likely to Vote Democrat.

Noncitizens are voting in U.S. elections despite the Biden government and corporate media claims to the contrary — and are three times more likely to vote for the Democrats. Noncitizens are often able to register and cast ballots due to negligence by election workers or registration drives sponsored by government agencies. A series of criminal cases involving ballots cast by immigrants in North Carolina has revealed some concerning data regarding the frequency of noncitizen voting and which political party they often support.

Federal prosecutors have brought charges against 37 noncitizens who voted in North Carolina’s 2016 election. By a three-to-one ratio, these individuals supported Democrats over Republican candidates. The noncitizens cast 99 ballots in multiple elections dating back as far as 1996. Most of the noncitizen voters only participated in federal elections, with only a handful of ballots cast in local races.

According to one of the federal attorneys who handled most of the North Carolina prosecutions, election officials appeared to register noncitizens they believed would likely support Democrat candidates. In one instance, a noncitizen’s voter registration was accepted only after it became clear he intended to vote for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

One of the noncitizens charged, Eloy Alberto Zayas-Berrier, has been in the United States since 1980. Zayas arrived as part of the Mariel boatlift, which saw over 100,000 Cuban nationals land on American shores. In 2016, Zayas showed up at an early voting location and presented his government-issued work permit to an election worker who allowed him to register as a Democrat and cast a ballot.

A recent incident in South Carolina saw a noncitizen receive multiple voter registration forms after filing for public assistance with the state’s Medicaid office.

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Noncitizens are voting in U.S. elections despite the Biden government and corporate media claims to the contrary — and are three times more likely to vote for the Democrats. Noncitizens are often able to register and cast ballots due to negligence by election workers or registration drives sponsored by government agencies. A series of criminal cases involving ballots cast by immigrants in North Carolina has revealed some concerning data regarding the frequency of noncitizen voting and which political party they often support. show more
December 29, 2023
News

Arkansas Group Advocating Paper Ballots Submits Proposal to State AG.

The Restore Election Integrity group has made a second attempt to change Arkansas voting procedures, re-submitting proposed constitutional amendments to the Arkansas Attorney General’s office on December 29, according to local outlet KARK. The proposed changes could see future Arkansas elections conducted using only paper ballots and place greater restrictions on absentee voting. The group’s prior attempt was rebuffed due to allegedly confusing language.

The amendments, if approved by Attorney General Tim Griffin, would necessitate the collection of at least 54,422 signatures drawn from 50 of 75 counties in order to proceed. This is the latest endeavor from the Restore Election Integrity group to introduce this significant modification to the state’s election process in an effort to bolster its credibility.

The enactment of these amendments would potentially see the measures included on the 2024 general election ballot. Critics claims to be concerned about the implications on voter access, while proponents argue for the necessity of tighter security measures. Details of the resubmitted proposals have yet to be released.

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The Restore Election Integrity group has made a second attempt to change Arkansas voting procedures, re-submitting proposed constitutional amendments to the Arkansas Attorney General's office on December 29, according to local outlet KARK. The proposed changes could see future Arkansas elections conducted using only paper ballots and place greater restrictions on absentee voting. The group's prior attempt was rebuffed due to allegedly confusing language. show more